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You never know what you’ll see posted on Facebook or Twitter, but once in a while you find something that really inspires you. The other day I found a recipe that I knew I wanted to try immediately. Rick Bayless posted a recipe for Rustic Chocolate Cake that looked easy and sounded delicious, so I [...]
Maple syrup is a delicious syrup that is popular not only as a pancake and waffle topping, but as an ingredient in all kinds of recipes. Maple syrup is only made during a small window each year in a fairly labor-intensive process, so it tends to be fairly expensive and that means that many people [...]
Whether you are baking a batch of muffins or making a batch of oatmeal, there are many different dishes that can benefit from a finishing sprinkle of sugar. Sugar – especially coarse sugar with large crystals – can add nice sweetness and texture when used to finish a dish, but sugar alone doesn’t add any [...]
Strudel is a type of pastry where a flaky dough is wrapped around a sweet or savory filling. A traditional strudel dough is made by carefully stretching a plain dough into paper-thin sheets and layering it together, which produces a very flaky crust. The process of pulling dough is a little too labor intensive for [...]
Rich, buttery pound cakes are great recipes to have in your repertoire, because there is never a bad time for a pound cake. They are also very versatile cakes and you can do a lot with a basic recipe. First Look, Then Cook baked a Pistachio Pound Cake, a lovely twist on a classic cake [...]
Ladyfingers are long, thin sponge cakes that have a shape that looks somewhat like a large finger – hence their name. They can be served as an accompaniment to desserts like ice creams, custards and coffees, but they are often used as a component in other desserts. Ladyfingers can be either soft and cakey or [...]
When you’re walking through a mall or large shopping center, the warm and buttery smell of soft-baked pretzels is likely to catch you, since chain pretzel places are just about everywhere. Soft pretzels are one of the most fun and tasty snack foods that you can make at home, and you don’t need to go out [...]
When I have a couple of lemons lying around my kitchen and want to make a quick dessert, I often opt for lemon pudding cake. Pudding cakes are cakes that create their own sauce while they bake. The sauce (a.k.a. the pudding) forms underneath a layer of fluffy cake while the dish is in the [...]
Basic bread has very few ingredients and seems like a simple thing to make, but bread is an intimidating thing to bake for many people. There are many reasons that people get intimidated and most of them come down to a lack of understanding of how to make a good bread. In short, they are [...]
A classic Tiramisu is made with ladyfingers dipped in coffee or espresso and layered with a mascarpone cream. The coffee is the key element and its caffeine boost is what gives tiramisu its name, which translates to “pick me up.” But a tiramisu is a dessert that can be very versatile and it is actually very easy [...]
A lemon drop is a cocktail that is made with vodka, lemon juice and sugar – rather like a grown up version of lemonade. It’s a mix of sweet and sour (with some vodka, of course) and it’s pretty refreshing as cocktails go. It also has a lovely yellow color to it that is part [...]
Coloring Easter eggs is a holiday tradition for people of all ages, not just for kids, but dying a bunch of hard boiled eggs isn’t the only way to have an egg-cellent easter. The following are five egg-centric recipes that are all fun and tasty ways to celebrate Easter with a little flair: Instead of [...]
The next time that you want to bake an over-the-top cake for a brunch or other special occasion, you should definitely put this Cream Cheese Stuffed Banana Bundt Cake at the top of your list. The name alone should be enough to inspire you to give this cake a try, and it just might replace [...]
If you have ever bought a roll of phyllo dough at the store, certain you are going to use it soon – but discover that same roll of dough, unused, in the freezer months later, you should definitely bookmark The Wednesday Chef‘s Lazy Spanikopita, because it is a wonderful and completely non-intimidating way to put [...]
Flavored vodkas are growing in popularity, with dozens of flavors popping up where there were once only a few. Instead of basic lemon and lime-infusions, you can now find much more creative flavors like cake, whipped cream and marshmallow. After a pre-Easter Peep-buying spree, I set out to make my own marshmallow-infused spirit using marshmallow [...]
A springform pan is a cake pan with removable sides. It is most often used to make delicate cakes that can’t easily be flipped out of a regular pan, such as cheesecakes and souffle cakes, though you can use it for baking any type of cake. These Tulip Springform Pans are another example of a [...]
Flourless chocolate cakes are one of the most indulgent types of cakes that there is, since they usually deliver a generous dose of chocolate in every single bite and there aren’t a lot of other ingredients to get in the way of that chocolate flavor. I tend to bake them when I’m really in the [...]
A pie is one of the most satisfying baked goods you can make in your kitchen, but pies don’t seem to get baked quite as often as cookies, cupcakes and other baked goods do. This could be attributed to the fact that pies take a little more time to make than some other dishes, since [...]
Adding vegetables to baked goods always makes them sound a little bit healthier. Zucchini bread and carrot cake, for instance, sound less indulgent than chocolate cake does, even though vegetables alone don’t make a recipe healthier. But even though they’re not turning your baked goods into health food, those veggies can put you on the [...]
When you read through recipes, there are often modifiers listed after the ingredients that tell you how they are supposed to be used. For instance, onions might be listed as “onions, diced” or apples might be listed as “apples, peeled and cored.” Ingredients are also frequently listed as “divided,” especially in baking recipes. When an [...]
To make a popsicle, all you need is a container to freeze your popsicle base – which could be anything from pudding to fruit juice – and a stick. Popsicle molds have been popping up in all kinds of new shapes and sizes over the past few years, and you can find them in classic shapes [...]
Galettes are wonderful desserts to make with fresh fruit because really let the fruit shine and are also quite easy to prepare. This Plum and Blueberry Galette has a filling made with fresh plums and blueberries, which not only make a good flavor combination, but turn into a dramatic dessert that has a vivid purple [...]
Strawberry lemonade is lemonade that is spiked with a little bit of red fruit – such as strawberries – to give it a pink color and a little extra sweetness. The Brass Halo captured the flavor of this popular summer drink in a batch of Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes. The moist cupcakes themselves are lemon flavored. [...]
I’ve always loved dying eggs in the springtime for Easter and have done it just about every year since I was a kid. Whether I’m doing a simple design or a more complex one, the colorful eggs are always fun to make. There are all kinds of kits out there that you can use to [...]
A large cake can make an impressive centerpiece at any party, and a shaped cake can even be more attention-getting. Scuplting a cake into a centerpiece is not a project that most of us want to take on at home, since it is a messy project that requires quite a lot of cake. Fortunately, there [...]
It is always nice to have a cake around the house. My grandmother might say that you need to have something sweet on hand in case company shows up, because it is always polite to offer guests something to nibble on with their coffee. I personally like to have some cake around because I like [...]
Preserving fruits and vegetables, whether you’re making strawberry jam or a batch of homemade pickles, is one of the more time-honored traditions in cooking. It is also one that isn’t done quite as much as it used to be, since we can now buy hot-house fruits and imported vegetables all year round. But off season [...]
Oatmeal Cream Pies are a snack cake made by Little Debbie that have a sweet cream filling sandwiched between two soft oatmeal cookies. The treat is essentially a whoopie pie that uses oatmeal cookies as a base, but whatever you call them, the pies are pretty tasty. These Lemon Oatmeal Cream Pies are a springtime [...]
Irish soda bread is an easy to make quick bread that is a staple for St Patrick’s Day celebrations. It’s a great all-purpose bread to make because not only can you put an almost unlimited number of variations on the basic recipe, but it is so easy that anyone can bake it (no matter how [...]
Checkerboard cake pan sets have been around for quite some time now. The sets typically include a plastic insert that allows you to add multiple colors of cake batter into one pan without the colors running together, so you end up with a geometric design instead of a marbled one. Wilton took this idea to [...]
A few months ago, Hostess, the maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, announced that it was going out of business for good. The fate of the iconic brands that it produced – beloved treats that many people grew up eating and had a strong sense of nostalgia about – seemed uncertain. The news that no [...]
When citrus is in season, I do a lot of baking with lemons, but lemons aren’t the only citrus out there and I think limes don’t get used as much as they could be. Limes have a bold, tart flavor to them that makes them a lot of fun to bake with, because even a [...]
There are foods that celebrate St Patrick’s Day, and these Irish Potato Cookies from Bake at 350 are a great example. These little cookies actually look like potatoes – but don’t worry, there are no potatoes in the cookie dough. They are no-bake cookies made with cream cheese, pecans and plenty of confectioners’ sugar. The [...]
Americans spend upwards of $400 million dollars a year on pancake syrup and maple syrup while shopping in supermarkets, and consumer much more than that when you take into account that people are dousing their pancakes, french toast and waffles in syrup when dining in restaurants. The vast majority of that money is spend on [...]
The best way to store flour is in an airtight container, so that nothing unwanted gets into your flour and so that the flour stays fresh, longer. There are all kinds of airtight containers out there that you can choose from, but it makes things a lot easier when you opt for a container designed [...]
Irish soda bread is a type of quick bread that uses baking soda, rather than yeast, as a leavener. The most basic type of soda bread uses only flour, buttermilk, baking soda and salt, and makes a dense, hearty loaf that goes well with many types of dishes. The basic bread recipe is very versatile, [...]
Vanilla is one of the most important flavors in a baker’s kitchen. It is included in most recipes because it boosts the flavor of other ingredients and makes everything from chocolate to berries taste even better. It also, of course, tastes fantastic on its own and deserves a little time in the spotlight. Pure Vanilla: [...]
I made a lot of Rice Krispy Treats as a kid. They were quick, easy and always satisfied my sweet tooth. I still make them once in a while these days, but I see a lot more potential in that basic cereal+marshmallow+butter recipe than I did when I was a kid. In other words, I [...]
This cheerful Pink Lemonade Cake would be the perfect centerpiece for a springtime party. It’s bright pink color is eye-catching and the cake pops with lemon flavor – just like the drink it is named after. This is a chiffon cake, which is a fluffy, moist cake that is primarily leavened with meringue, much like [...]
When consumers heard that Hostess was closing its doors for good and that products like Twinkies and Wonderbread would be discontinued, there was a rush to stock up before they were pulled from store shelves. Twinkies in particular were a favorite childhood snack for many of us and, even though some might say that they [...]
Butter can be used in many different forms in a recipe. Cold butter is usually cut into flour for pastry or biscuits. Softened butter is usually creamed with sugar for cookies and cakes. Melted butter typically used for cakes and quick-mixing recipes like muffins and quick breads. Recipes call for butter in different ways. When [...]
When you think of a two-tone cupcake, you probably picture a marble cupcake where two different colors or flavors of batter are swirled together. Wilton’s new Two-Tone Cupcake Inserts allow you to make a cupcake where just the center is a completely different flavor from the outside. The advantage to a two-tone cupcake like this [...]
Cannoli are a classic Italian dessert. A basic cannoli is a tube-shaped, deep fried pastry shell that is filled with a sweetened ricotta cheese mixture. They have a great combination of flavors and crisp and creamy textures. They originated in Sicily, but have a huge fan base in Italian communities all over the world. The [...]
When I was a kid, I always loved a party that had a piñata - and this Piñata Cake from A Subtle Revelry is an amazing version that should be a hit with “kids” of all ages. It is a cake that has been hollowed out and filled with a variety of little candies – just [...]
Cake carriers are a must-have tool for bakers who want to be able to easily transport their goodies from one place to another. You can fill them up with anything, from brownies to cupcakes, but the real advantage they offer is in their height, since it allows you to transport a fully-frosted layer cake safely [...]
There are many people out there who would prefer to keep artificial colors out of their food. Fortunately, there are a few options to choose from when it comes to natural food colorings, so you can still bake a red velvet cake. But sprinkles and other decorative toppings give you fewer choices when it comes [...]
The wonderful thing about biscuits is that they pair well with almost every dish you can think of. You can serve them at breakfast, at lunch and and dinner – and you can even use them to make berry shortcakes for dessert. The even more wonderful thing about them is that they are quick and [...]
Nutella is a delicious – and addictive – chocolate hazelnut spread that is popular just about everywhere. As it has become more popular (here in the US, at least), I have noticed similar spreads popping up that feature different nuts. For instance, I’ve seen chocolate-peanut spreads and chocolate-almond spreads. I attribute the popularity of these [...]
Graham crackers are a type of lightly sweetened, whole grain cracker that are often used in baking and dessert recipes. The whole crackers can be found sandwiching toasted marshmallows and chocolate in s’mores and the cracker crumbs are a popular choice for the crusts of pies and cheesecakes. The crackers were originally made with graham [...]
A peanut butter cup is nothing more than chocolate enrobing a salty-sweet peanut butter center in a small paper cup. This version of a peanut butter cup is still in “cup” format, albeit a larger cupcake size! These Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cupcakes should appeal to anyone whose mouth waters at the thought of a [...]
